UMTRI: average fuel economy of new vehicles in US in March hits record high
03 April 2013
The average fuel-economy (window-sticker) value of new vehicles sold in the US in March was at a record high of 24.6 mpg (9.56 l/100 km), according to the latest monthly figures from Dr. Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
This value is 0.2 mpg up from the revised value for February and up 4.5 mpg from the value in October 2007 (the first month of their monitoring).
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The University of Michigan Eco-Driving Index (EDI)—an index that estimates the average monthly emissions of greenhouse gases generated by an individual US driver—stood at 0.83 in January. This value indicates an improvement of 17% since October 2007. The EDI takes into account both the fuel used per distance driven and the amount of driving (the latter relying on data that are published with a two-month lag).
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So has US gasoline consumption reduced, or are there more cars on the roads than 2007 ?
Posted by: mahonj | 03 April 2013 at 03:16 PM
is the population increasing?.. do Undocumented Democrats want to drive a car?
Posted by: Herm | 03 April 2013 at 08:48 PM
Yes, the human population and the number of vehicles have increased since 2007.
No, the distance traveled has not really changed (99+% of 2007 level).
Consequently:
- the distance traveled per vehicle must have gone down.
- the distance traveled per capita must have gone down.
The 'potential' or 'sticker' claimed consumption per mile has decreased 16% since 2007.
The real consumption per mile has probably decreased by about 4% to 5% since 2007.
The pollution or emission per mile traveled has probably decreased less due to many older vehicles on USA's roads.
Posted by: HarveyD | 04 April 2013 at 09:14 AM
Harvey D,
Can you EVER see anything positive? Certainly the population has increased and the number of vehicles registered has increased. The mileage driven per vehicle has remained relatively constant. The consumption of Oil for Transport has declined some in spite of that; and where it comes from has changed tremendously, now overwhelmingly from the Western Hemisphere.
As these people have measured the increased fuel economy mileage of new models, then also confirmed the effective mileage has increased significantly by gross measures of the auto fleet consumption.
Cars are more efficient, and despite increased total usage, are using less total amounts of fuel. Your point that the newest cars are better than older cars only serves to reinforce the point that built in, the progress is destined to continue, as older cars are scrapped and replaced with newer more efficient models over time.
Your conclusions are out right wrong.
Why can't you ever admit that progress is occurring? Is your world view such that you are only happy if things must be constantly getting worse, even if they are not?
Posted by: D | 04 April 2013 at 06:24 PM